Basketball: An Ingenious Sport that Captures Hearts - Speech Example

Introduction

I believe that in the history of humankind, one of the most ingenious sports is basketball. Basketball, as a sport, wins the hearts of many people, players, and fans. When I was young, I always wondered why my friend Tony was excited about basketball. The game is not only exciting to watch but also lively and healthy for the players. Tony always talked about the sport every passing minute, like an invisible force possessed him. When basketball was mentioned, Tony's eyes would sparkle with longing and interest. It was clear that Tony was in love with the sport. (Pause) I never knew that basketball would later save my life. As a result, I attribute my passion and interest in basketball to Tony and the NBA legend Kobe Bryant (may the lord rest his soul in peace).

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Tony always pressured me to watch the NBA games with him, but I did not understand why he was so excited by the sport. After a long period of persuasion, I cracked under pressure from my friend and agreed to watch NBA games with him, especially over the weekends. My first basketball experience was the NBA final. At first, I watched reluctantly; however, as time went by, I began to enjoy it and even became more interested in understanding its concept. (Show excitement) By the time the game ended, I was on my toes. It was the most exciting sport I have ever experienced (so I told myself). It was a game that brought all the emotions a person could feel. It made an impression on me. I fell in love with the sport. I understood Tony's obsession with the sport.

I admired the skill of the NBA players and wanted to be like them, as time went by I admired Kobe Bryant, who was playing for Lakers at the time than any sportsman in the world. Kobe was my idol while growing up. I began practising and learning the rules of the sport through online resources using my father's personal computer. Over time, my passion materialized when with other children from the neighbourhood, we formed an amateur basketball team. We called ourselves the Sharks, and we thought that our team's name was cool. We ran every day, we practiced every day, and we played every day. That was our life. We woke up early and practiced in the bitter cold before going to school and later practiced after school. Basketball took control of our lives; we practiced every waking minute.

With the continued practice, my skill improved, and I joined the school team, where we went ahead to win multiple inter-school competitions. All members of our neighborhood amateur team were chosen to join their school teams, and we were thrilled to meet each other in tournaments. I believe this was due to our daily practice, for no talent can take the place of determination and practice. Even though work at school increased and we had limited time, we still made time to practice and play at least once every week. The team became more than just a basketball team; we would study together and help each other when one of us faced problems. We became a family brought together by our shared love for basketball.

In high school, my life revolved around basketball and studying. I did not have much time; therefore, I carefully managed my time by allocating time for the books, practicing basketball, and time to spend with friends and family. Most of my friends were in the neighborhood team that made things infinitely easier because I could spend time with them while practicing basketball. Having friends whom we shared a shared love for basketball was both motivating and encouraged me to do more to prove to my friends that I was the best.

It was around this time in high school that many people our age began experimenting with drugs. Most of them did drugs due to pressure to belong or to fit in. I was never under pressure to fit in since my friends from the neighborhood team were always there for me when I faced challenges; they felt like family. We kept each other from distractions and discouraged each other from taking drugs. Most of our age-mates spend their free time doing drugs, but we instead practiced basketball.

Many high school students from our neighborhood began selling drugs, increasing drug use among high school students. They did this to earn money to support their drug needs since many had been addicted to these drugs. Gangs supplied the drugs. Some students felt a sense of belonging by joining these gangs. The gangs were violent and territorial. Some of my friends had joined these gangs after they started abusing drugs. I could have quickly begun abusing drugs and joined these gangs, as many of my peers did it, not for the neighborhood basketball team.

One evening on the weekend, while playing basketball with the neighborhood team, we heard gunshots. We were used to the sound of gunshots in the neighborhood since gun violence was not uncommon. We did not think much about the gunshot and continued to play basketball little did we know that it was our friend Peter who had been shot. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Peter abused drugs and was in a gang. We had known Peter since we were young and we were close friends since childhood. A rival gang had cornered and shot Peter as retaliation for Peter's gang crossing into the other gang's territory. It was painful losing a childhood friend. The memory of the incident brings me to tears to this day. I could not help but imagine that it could have easily been me had I not fallen in love with basketball and joined the basketball team. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that basketball had saved my life.

Basketball has taught me many skills that I apply in life outside the basketball court. The time management habits I formed while I was young have proved to be a useful asset in my adulthood. I learned from an early age the importance of healthy eating and exercise since they improved my performance on the court. Basketball has not only saved my life but also made me an all-round individual. I am thankful for this sport since I credit it for saving my life, seeing that many of my age mates from my neighborhood joined gangs, abused drugs, and are imprisoned following a life of crime.

More importantly, I attribute my success and undying love for basketball to Kobe Bryant who not only made the game easy and cool instilled discipline through his essays such as the 'Letter to My Younger Self' which pushed me to become better every single day irrespective of the challenges that I experienced over time. As the most successful basketball player in the history of NBA, I took advantage of Kobe moving motivation letters, which were and remained to be a significant inspiration to the millions of youths and adults audience who view him as a legendary example to learn the importance of financial management and discipline. The rational appeal in 'Letter to my Younger Self' was the importance of making wise decisions, especially in terms of finances from a young age, which grows to a culture that is instrumental in developing and maintaining wealth in the future. Therefore, I have learned and continue to gain more from basketball as a game, and I believe it is a sport that can inspire a more creative and hardworking generation.